1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor vehicle mirrors and, more particularly, to mechanisms for adjusting them. Specifically, the present invention relates to mechanisms which assist in aligning external vehicle mirrors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Motor vehicles commonly have exterior mirrors mounted on each side to provide the operator of the vehicle with views both to the rear and sides of the vehicle not otherwise readily within the field of vision. Automobiles and trucks typically have two external mirrors, one on the driver's side and a more remote mirror on the passenger side. These mirrors are usually adjustable since the desired setting of a mirror is determined by the size, needs and preferences of a particular vehicle operator. Such mirrors frequently require realignment because they are accidentally knocked or jarred out of the desired setting, or because of the vehicle is operated by more than one individual thereby requiring different settings.
The driver's side mirror is commonly within easy reach from the driver's seat and so is susceptible to quick, unaided adjustment by a driver remaining in the driver's seat during such adjustment. While the adjustment and realignment of the driver's side external mirror may require several attempts, as well as reaching out to the exterior of the vehicle from the driver's seating position, this adjustment can nonetheless be readily made. However, the passenger side mirror is usually more remote and out of easy reach of a person sitting in the driver's seat. Thus, it is difficult if not impossible for one person to view the driver's perspective on the passenger's side mirror while simultaneously twisting the remote passenger side mirror into a desired setting. As a consequence, realigning the passenger side mirror requires the cooperation of two people or, if only a single driver is available, a series of time consuming trial and error adjustments. The adjustments require either moving back and forth between the views from the driver's seat and the passenger's seat from within the vehicle, or getting out of the vehicle to the exterior mirror, making the adjustment, returning to the driver's seat, and then repeating the same sequence of steps several times to achieve the desired adjustment.
As a consequence of the difficulty and inconvenience of such trial and error adjustments for the passenger side external mirror, a number of devices have been created in an attempt to eliminate such difficulty and inconvenience. U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,430 discloses a remote control mirror targeting and repositioning system. Such remote control systems, however, can be expensive and must be incorporated as part of the originally built vehicle rather than added on after the vehicle has been built. Various targeting systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,360,368, 4,257,706 and 5,224,270 for utilizing rearview mirrors more effectively. However, these particular references do not disclose any device intended to obviate the problems disclosed and discussed above.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,730,926, 5,122,910, 5,237,458 and 5,500,773 all disclose devices that are intended to be utilized in conjunction with the side mirror for targeting fixed portions of the vehicle for purposes of adjusting and realigning the mirror. However, all of these devices require at a 3-way reflector system in order to accomplish the goal of assisting in realigning the external mirror once it has been knocked or jarred out of its original desired setting. Such 3-way auxiliary mirror systems are more complicated than necessary in order to accomplish the desired purposes, thus increasing cost, increasing complexity of use, and increasing potential of misalignment. Therefore, there is still a need for a simple device which can be either incorporated as part of the original vehicle or added as an after-market device which is designed for assisting in easy realignment of exterior vehicle mirrors.